LAST week a man and woman admitted in court to power-washing 57 house martin nests off a house in County Kildare – at the peak of the breeding season.
The parent birds must have been totally terrified as their youngsters were washed away – it’s estimated that 205 chicks were killed.
A neighbour said her children witnessed the aftermath – and were “very distressed by what they saw”.
When the horrifying work was completed last July, the ground was littered with broken eggs and dead chicks. The neighbour managed to find one chick alive and it was rescued by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The house in the townland of Cullenagh was being put up for sale after being rented out and the woman, who worked in an estate agents, directed the man to power-wash the property. Both pleaded guilty and were ordered to donate £10,000 to Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland.
To make matters worse, when conservation ranger Kieran Buckley was informed of the nests’ destruction, he contacted the estate agents office, who said they took wildlife crime very seriously and that any work carried out would be in line with protection laws.
Yet the following day the man returned to finish the job – blasting all remaining nests from the back of the house.
The man said he’d been given €400 to remove the nests and it took him four visits to complete the job. The woman admitted that she’d been under pressure to sell the house and she wanted the nests removed.
The wildlife ranger said: “I’ve been doing this for 20 years and I have never come across anything like this or even close to it in terms of wilful destruction.”
The judge was clearly disgusted – and decided on the huge fine after finding out the house was subsequently sold for half a million euro.
TURNKEY: House martin cups are a home from home for the birds
“What was done here was for profit… clear them all out of the way because they are pooping all over the patio,” he said.
Of course some people don’t want house martins nesting on their home – especially not scores of them – because of the droppings. In that case nests can be removed in winter when the birds are on migration.
Several prominent buildings around Belfast have put up netting so the returning birds can’t nest there. It’s a cruel thing to do, but at least no birds are being harmed. They’ll just have to find an alternative nesting site.
Dúlra has been trying to coax house martins, gabhlán binne in Irish, to his house for a few years now – without success. You can buy nest ‘cups’, which are like turnkey homes so the birds don’t even have to gather all that mud to build their nest.
They aren’t as expensive or cumbersome as swift boxes – you just need a couple of screws and the plastic nest will sit there forever.
Swift supremo Mark Smyth was on hand to put up the house martin cups in 2022 – as long as you put swift boxes up first, Mark’s willing to do a few add-ons!
The cups are a dream home – but the difficult part is getting the attention of breeding adults. Dúlra plays the odd house martin among the swift calls that blast from his bedroom window during breeding season – the birds sometimes hear it and head towards the house, but so far none has stayed.
Squinter – on the other hand – doesn’t need to play any calls at all. His family is blessed to have a pair of martins nesting on the gable wall – and Dúlra couldn’t be more jealous.
But house martins have every reason to be cautious around people.
After the shameful actions in Kildare, is it any wonder these beautiful birds are nervous about moving into a new home?
* If you’ve seen or photographed anything interesting, or have any nature questions, you can text Dúlra on 07801 414804.
